Flooding in Myanmar has killed at least 27 people, and the death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers reach some of the hardest-hit and most remote areas. "The death toll in Rakhine State alone will reach several hundred. There are a number of far flung areas that we haven't been able to reach," Hla Saw, a senior member of the Arakan National Party, said. The state was battered by the remnants of Cyclone Komen, which made landfall in nearby Bangladesh.

Men use inner tubes to travel along a flooded street in Kalay, Sagaing division, MyanmarSoe Zeya Tun/ReutersRoofs stick out of the floodwaters in KalayYe Aung Thu/AFPDogs stand on the roof of a home in a flooded village in KalaySoe Zeya Tun/ReutersAn aerial view shows floodwaters inundating houses in Kalay, in upper Myanmar's Sagaing regionYe Aung Thu/AFPYe Aung Thu/AFPYe Aung Thu/AFPAn aerial view of flooded villages in Kawlin, Sagaing division, MyanmarSoe Zeya Tun/ReutersA man sits on the roof of his home in a flooded village in KawlinSoe Zeya Tun/Reuters

The situation in Rakhine is considered especially dangerous, because more than 100,000 internally displaced people who fled their homes due to civil conflict live in poorly built and badly situated camps.

More than 150,000 people have been affected by severe flooding after weeks of torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and caused rivers to burst their banks. The state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that 700 houses had been destroyed by landslides in Hakha, capital of Chin State.

Myanmar's president Thein Sein visited Kalay town in Sagaing division, one of the worst-hit areas. He said that water levels are slowly receding and he hopes people can soon return to their homes. He told state TV that the government plans to begin reconstruction once evacuated people return to their homes. Water levels were as high as 2.5m (eight ft) in Sagaing and 4.5m (14ft) in Rakhine, according to the government.

People shelter in a tree as floodwaters rise in KalaySoe Zeya Tun/ReutersA plane carrying aid for flood victims lands at Kalay airport as smoke raises from a fire near a petrol stationSoe Zeya Tun/ReutersA dog swims in a flooded villageSoe Zeya Tun/ReutersA pagoda seen in a flooded village in KalaySoe Zeya Tun/ReutersVillagers travel on a military rescue boat as they pass a flooded village in KawlinSoe Zeya Tun/ReutersA petrol station is surrounded by water in Kalay, upper Myanmar's Sagaing regionYe Aung Thu/AFPTwo dogs stand on the roof of a partially-submerged building in KalayYe Aung Thu/AFPKalay city hall is surrounded by floodwaterYe Aung Thu/AFPA man prepares to climb on the roof of a house in KalayYe Aung Thu/AFPA woman tends to her one-month old daughter at an evacuation camp in KalayYe Aung Thu/AFPResidents paddle a canoe past a submerged house in Kalay, in upper Myanmar's Sagaing regionYe Aung Thu/AFP

Though rain has stopped in most areas, the recovery effort is a major test for impoverished Myanmar. The country has only basic infrastructure and medical facilities and is ill-equipped to deal with disasters, as shown when Cyclone Nargis battered the Irrawaddy Delta in 2008, killing 130,000 people.